Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog

Recently, I had my very first private dining experience in Singapore, at The Chinoiseries. Chinoiserie is a French word for a Western style that has influences from China or East Asia in its design, and this style is also the main inspiration for the menu served at this cosy apartment where chef-owners Lionel and Karyn reside and receive diners.

The menu is a 5-course dinner tasting menu at $168 per pax, with a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 pax per booking. However, due to demand from smaller groups, sharing of table with others is also allowed based on availability so do check in with them.

There were 2 options for the first course – Oysters 3-ways or the Brouillade. The former was 3 oysters done in different ways: en nage glacee, grilled with persillade, and poached with celery cream. Meanwhile, the Brouillade featured soft and creamy scrambled eggs with smoked king salmon, topped with dill and sturia vintage caviar.

The second course was a choice between Legumes – white asparagus, morels, morel forma, parmesan crisp or Scallops – Hokkaido jumbo scallop, tarragon beurre blanc, prosciutto chips. I personally preferred the Legumes because of the sweet and tender white asparagus (unlike the green asparagus) and the savoury morels which is one of my favourite shrooms.

We then had a pasta course, which was Capellini topped with uni, Alaskan king crab and tobiko.

For the main course, we had the Lamb rack with a pistachio herb crust and red pepper coulis, and Tournedos – which featured Australian black angus tenderloin, Sarawak black and white peppercorn and red wine jus. The meat was tender to my liking and paired well with the spices.

Both mains were served with vitelotte potatoes, which were petite and had purple flesh. It was my first time trying and I was surprised by the nutty flavour which I really liked instead of the starchy taste I was expecting.

Our dessert, the Parfait Glace, had a good balance of sweet and nutty flavours and a mixture of soft and crunchy textures. We also had a scoop of their homemade praline paste and it was divine.

A gem that was not found on the menu, but for preorders only, was their Canelé which I got to try before leaving. The ones here were befitting of how a canelé should be – crisp and crusty on the outside (while not being too hard) and moist with a slight chewiness on the inside. That ended the meal on an extremely high note.

Though I could not compare what I had at The Chinoiseries to other private dining restaurants for my lack of experience, it was overall a classy yet homely experience. I was impressed with the wide range of quality and rare ingredients in the dishes and how everything could be made so timely in a kitchen of a HDB flat. The service from and conversations with Lionel and Karyn added a personal touch which made us feel comfortable and at ease, without that pressure to be formal in a fine dining setting.

289 Bukit Batok Street 25, Singapore 651289

Thu to Sat 7pm – 10pm

WhatsApp: 9272 7180 to enquire or reserve

Photos shot with iPhone 14 Pro Max